12-25-2008, 08:22 AM
Chapter Twenty Five
Some Like it Hot
Some Like it Hot
Beltsville. Morale couldnât have possibly been lower. Hit had been weeks since the initial capture, and Lizzie Hardy was on the verge of total mental breakdown. She was still scanning the TV-radio wavelengths hour after hour, day after day, and finding--
âNOTHING!!â She screamed, slamming the television top. âALWAYS NOTHING!! DAMN IT, CHRIS, WHERE ARE THEY!?!â
Rabikes exploded right back âI DONâT @#$%ING KNOW, ALL RIGHT?â
âSHUT UP!!!!â Pardy shouted from the other room. Moulty diddled and squawked angrily. John Diamond stormed out into the living room, livid.
âWHAT THE HELLâRE YOU DOING, YELLING AT HER!!â he accosted Rabikes.
Chris didnât cool down. He heated up. âYOU KEEP OUT OF THIS, WIGWAM! YOU ABANDONED BECKY! BOTH OF YOU! IâLL YELL AT HER IF I FEEL LIKE IT!â
Diamond became furious. Pardy rushed in, screaming. âEVERYBODY STOP IT!â
But Diamond all but charged at Rabikes. âYOU SON OF A BITCH! IâLL BREAK YOU IN TWO!â
âCOME ON!!!â Rabikes screamed, preparing to swing at Diamond.
Fred Freshee appeared out of nowhere and jumped between the two. âGUYS!!! Guys, guys, guys-- chill the hell out, for Godâs sake!â
Rabikes was still tense. âShut up, you Rob Lowe wannabe-- WHAT THE @#$%?!? FRESHEE?!? Where the hell did you come from?!?â
âOutside. Hi, Miz Hardy.â Chris and John backed off, confused.
âLizzie, wiping away the tears, said weakly, âFred... where have you been?â
âI told you. Outside.â
âOH, CUT THE CRAP!!â Pardy shouted.
âPARDY, STOP CURSING!â Lizzie snapped.
âWHAT? ALL I SAID WAS CRAP! CHRIS SAID @#$%!!!â
Rabikes, still on edge, had Freshee in his sights. âEverybody zip it!! I wanna know where the hell you REALLY were, or Iâm gonna knock the living shit out of you.â He glancing at Pardy, then her older sister... âSorry, Lizzie.â
Fred took some milk out of the refrigerator. He looked depressed... beat. âCalm down. Iâll tell ya. Iâve been all over the U.S. of A. looking for her... and thatâs the Godâs-honest truth. Take it easy, all rightâ
âKeep talking,â Rabikes ordered.
âOkay. Everybody stay calm. I got good news and bad news. The good news is... I found Becky in Los Angeles.â He drank a sip of milk.
Chris, Lizzie, Diamond, Moulty and Pardy all reacted, excitedly. Fred held up his hands. âAND?â Rabikes asked, bracing for the bad news. Lizzie was trembling, anxious for Fred to spill the beans. Moultyâs eyes bulged.
âAnd we took a car out of L.A... the two of us...â his voice softened, âthen a motorbike, and finally... a train, but... but... they... oh, man, I canât even say this... they... they... th-th-th-they...â
âFRESHEE!!!â bellowed Rabikes.
Fred looked up regretfully, took off his glasses, revealing his tired red eyes. He was sitting at the breakfast table. âThey captured her again in West Virginia.â
Rabikes slammed the wall. Lizzie moaned and collapsed to her knees. Moulty lowered his widdle head. Pardy gulped. Diamond shouted âDAMMIT!â
Suddenly, Fred shot up, whipped open the front door and Becky Fox jumped in, smirking and âta-daaing.â âSIKE!!!!!â Fred shouted, laughing.
Becky, on the other hand glared at her recent traveling companion with disgust. That was cruel, you apple-assed jerk.
The entire room and everyone in it exploded with pandemonium. Rabikes screamed and pulled Becky into the room for a victory spin. Moulty did loop-de-loops in his cage swing. Lizzie, shocked, almost fainted dead on the table, then smiled with sudden relief. Diamond sighed, shutting his eyes. And Pardy, who never takes off her baseball cap, screamed and triumphantly threw her cap high into the air.
âOHH, SURE!â Fred smiled wolfishly. âWhen I get back, it barely registers, but when SHE comes back, itâs a frigginâ Mardi-Gras! This is so typical!â
Lizzie walked up to Fred, laughing hysterically. âH-How long have you been together, Fred?â
âDays, Miz Hardy. Days. Imagine the horror...â
She got really close, head-to-head. âAnd why in the name of Napoleon Bonaparte didnât you phone us earlier and tell us you both were coming?â she smiled sweetly.
âAh, jeez, Miz Hardy... I forgot!â Fred flushed.
She hit him over the head with a frying pan. Coming from her, he didnât mind. He lay semi-conscious on the floor. The others gathered around Becky, who looked for and found a decent notepad.
âBecky, what happened to you? We were worried sick!â Lizzie said.
OH, BOY! She wrote. WHERE DO I BEGIN? She touched her forehead.
âNever mind the notes, kid... talk to us. You did it before,â Chris urged.
Instead, Becky smiled and shook her head. Sorry, Chris, she thought. No can do.
Rabikesâs smile wavered. âBut I thought...â
IâM OKAY, she wrote. THANKS -- ALL OF YOU. MISSED YOU GUYS. Becky wanted to tell them everything, about Dr. Roberts, Hunt, Fricker, but there was so much she couldnât... like what happened in Utah... what she did to Pure Skumm.
She looked out into the dining room. Pardy Hardy approached her. HOWâS YOUR HAND?â Becky wrote to her.
In response, the eight-year-old shot Becky in the forehead. POIT!
âPretty good, B.F... Howâs your face?â she responded, twirling around her plastic gun on her trigger finger. âWeâre even now, got it? My shooterâs empty and my work is done.â The girl said as Becky smiled and pried the sticky-dart off her forehead. âHey, canât you tell us what happened? Nobody tells me anything! What was it like being an assassin? Was it cool? Was it like Patty Hearst? Better? Worse?â
Becky wasnât offended. Youâre truly an original, kiddo. She saw Diamond whisper something to Lizzie, whose whole face lit up, grinning. She walked upstairs with the look of someone about to spring a surprise gift.
Becky wrote another note for Rabikes and Diamond: WHAT IF VSO DOES TRY THIS AGAIN?
Diamond replied, âWeâll face that if they try. If it happens, weâll face that together, and you wonât be left behind next time. Right Chris?â
âAbsoflamingutely.â Rabikes looked at Becky, then asked her, âCan I have a light, kid? Iâm dying for a cigarette.â
That seemed to annoy her. SMOKINGâS BAD FOR YOU!! she held up.
Rabikes laughed. âEspecially when Iâm floating sideways. Always looking out --â
âBECKY!!! MY GOD!!!â
Beckyâs eyes widened. She cupped her hand to her mouth. ITâS DAVID!!! Furfy, his mouth wide open in shock, descended the staircase in three quick jumps. Lizzie watched at the top of the steps as Becky shot like a projectile into the ex-copâs waiting arms.
âBECKY! OH, GOD, BECKY, BECKY, BECKY!!â Two people never held each other tighter. Clenching her mouth, she buried her head in his chest, her body convulsing with grief and relief, her mouth stifling her sobs, her eyes tightly shut. Furfy was crying too. âY-Youâre back! Oh, my God, youâre back!â
âHrrrrrr,â growled Pardy, her envy and jealousy building up by the second. But Lizzie gave her a warning-look and she subsided.
âI know just how you feel, kid,â Rabikes whispered to Pardy.
She gave him a wary look. âYou mean youâre gay?â Rabikesâs butt-muscles involuntarily tensed. To make matters worse, Lizzie had heard Pardyâs comment and giggled.
Furfy stroked the back of Beckyâs head, and leaned in, kissing the tears from her eyes. Becky flinched. Nervously, she slowly moved from David.
âWhatâs wrong?â he asked.
YOU KNOW ABOUT MY PROBLEM.
âYeah. They told me. So?â He touched her chin, asking her quietly âWhat are you worried about, hon?â
CANâT TALK TO YOU, she wrote.
âYou just did,â David told her. âIt doesnât matter.â
CANâT EAT, EITHER.
Furfy paused. âWeâll save a lot of money on food, then. Doesnât matter.â
CANâT DRINK, SMARTYPANTS.
He was determined to keep things positive. âDrink from the pool, honey. It doesnât matter.â
What? Becky thought, amused in spite of herself. But then came the last note. I CANâT MAKE LOVE. She didnât think he had an answer to that one.
âBecky-- it doesnât matter. I donât care, and neither should you. You think a little thing like thatâs gonna change my mind? Youâre crazy. Did you let my face get in the way of your loving me? Not for a minute. You didnât care whether I had a face at all. I want to marry you no matter what. Youâre mine and Iâm not letting you go. Now be quiet. Am I understood?â
She smiled, tearing up again. Okay, she thought. If you insist. They embraced again.
âDid you hear him? Lizzie whispered to Rabikes. âWasnât that incredible?â
âHmmm... love without sex. No, I canât relateâ he mumbled back.
Becky relaxed and outside, arm in arm, with David. She kept considering her last moments on the VSO ship. It was hard getting Kevin Hunt or the doctor out of her mind. Both had been cruel and kind at different moments; she had often been at a loss on whom to trust. She was wiser now (she hoped), maybe even wilder, like Chris said. As for Hunt and the doc, one had ultimately chosen to kill her, the other to save her. Yet she didnât want to think of Hunt in all-negative terms, despite his last actions. She wasnât sure what to think. For now, save and free at last, wrapped in Davidâs arms, Becky Fox thought her own personal prayer for the soul of Dr. Damien Roberts, then added:
Thank you, Doc.
For Morton Downey, Jr. (1934 - 2001)